The world’s worst bank Anglo Irish’s Dublin HQ to be converted into a coffee shop

Dublin headquarters of the Anglo Irish Bank Corp., which has been called the world’s worst bank, may be converted into a coffee shop.

According to city authorities, building owner Irish Life Group Ltd applied to convert the ground floor of the brick building that overlooks St. Stephen’s Green in Dublin to a coffee shop. Landlord Stephen Court Ltd, a unit of Irish Life, told planners in December of plans to change the ground floor.

Bobby Kerr, chairman of Insomnia, a coffee chain with over 60 locations in Ireland said, “We could have a lot of fun thinking of different names for the coffees.”

He told the Cape Code Times if permission is granted for the plans, “I’d ask how much the rent is and can I make a bid on it.”

The Anglo Irish headquarters has been a site for angry demonstrations during which people protested irresponsible lenders and the 30 million euro government bailout that cost each Irish citizen more than $8,850. The headquarters became a symbol for Ireland’s recent financial crisis that helped lead to a controversial 67.5 billion euro international bailout for Ireland.

According to Anglo Irish, which has been renamed the Irish Banking Resolution Corporation, the bank left the Dublin building during the fourth quarter of 2012. The bank’s signs had been taken down in April of 2011 and the process was shown on RTE, Ireland’s national television broadcaster. The bank letters are now on display in the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin.

The bank had been planning to lease new headquarters in 2009 when the financial crisis started. CEO David Drumm stepped down and moved to Chatham. As the bank continued to incur loan losses, Eamon Gilmore, currently deputy prime minister, called them the worst bank in the world in 2010.